SIFUENTES: DREAM Act raises student's hopes, again

A dream that was dashed earlier this year for thousands of young
people was revived last week, but it's unknown for how long.

This particular group happens to be in the country illegally,
brought here by their parents as children from other countries in
search of a better life. A bill that's been kicked around in
Congress for about 10 years would help a select number of these
kids: Those willing to serve in the military or attend college.

In other words, the best among them.

Two months ago, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., attempted to insert the
Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, also known
as the DREAM Act, into a defense spending bill, but the effort
failed to get any Republican support and fell short of the 60 votes
needed to move the defense bill forward.

Last week, Reid pledged to try again in the final days of the
legislative year, but the bill remains a long shot. Even some
Democrats expressed reservations and opposition to the DREAM Act.
Republicans appear unfazed even though the bill was modified to
make it easier to swallow.

North County students and supporters held vigils on freeway
overpasses Monday night in support of the legislation.

About 65,000 illegal immigrants graduate from U.S. high schools
each year and could potentially attend college, according to a
study by the Urban Institute, a Washington-based economic and
social policy research organization.

But a much smaller number is likely to qualify for legal status
even if the bill were to pass. The newest version also would
tighten restrictions on public benefits.

Under the bill introduced last week by Reid, illegal immigrant
students would be ineligible for lower in-state tuition fees that
they receive in some states, including California. Immigrants over
29 years old would not qualify to legalize their status under the
act, down from earlier versions of the bill that set the age limit
at 34.

Students who do qualify would have to wait at least 10 years
before being eligible for permanent legal resident status. Students
would also be ineligible for Medicaid, food stamps and other public
benefits.

Those changes have made the DREAM Act much less palatable to
supporters and failed to gain more support among opponents, said
Pedro Rios, San Diego director of the American Friends Service
Committee, a human rights group.

Rios said the organization supports the idea of legalizing
immigrant students, but opposes aspects of the bills, such as the
military service component.

"It's an unfortunate capitulation on the part of the Democrats,"
he said.

A vote on the DREAM Act is expected this week, but the prospects
for the bill are dim and those students holding candles on freeway
overpasses last week will likely have to wait, maybe years, before
their dreams come true.

Small victory

On the other hand, illegal immigrant students won a small
victory last month when the California Supreme Court ruled that a
state law that gives those students cheaper in-state tuition rates
does not violate federal law.

Critics, including North County Rep. Brian Bilbray, say the
state law violates federal prohibitions barring illegal immigrants
from receiving post-secondary benefits not available to U.S.
citizens.

Bilbray's children were part of a group that filed the lawsuit
against the state. The suit alleges that the Republican
congressman's children, Briana and Patrick, were denied in-state
tuition rates because they lived in Virginia, where Bilbray owns a
home, before they moved back to California to attend college.

Kris Kobach, an attorney who has filed numerous cases across the
country seeking to restrict the rights of illegal immigrants, filed
the California case on behalf of the Immigration Reform Law
Institute, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration
Reform, a group that advocates for stricter immigration
enforcement.

Bilbray worked as a lobbyist for FAIR before being elected to
represent North County's 50th Congressional District. He is now
listed as a member of the group's board of advisers.

Kobach has said he would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme
Court.